recap: appreciating and influencing greatness around the world

This month’s webinar shared new research conducted by the O.C. Tanner Institute on appreciating and inspiring greatness around the world. Stephanie Hendrickson, Director of International Business Development at O.C. Tanner, shared findings on what companies are currently doing for recognition around the globe and best practices for implementing a global recognition solution.

Stephanie started by going over the results of a recent study of over 1000 global HR leaders in 12 countries. 26% of companies included in the research use an external partner for recognition awards, while 42% do recognition all in-house; however, companies that use an external partner saw a larger return on their recognition investment than companies who try and do it by themselves.

Most companies gave recognition for years of service and above and beyond performance, while fewer had programs to recognize ongoing effort, however very few companies had programs to recognize all 3 areas. The study found some cultural nuances as well – France, Brazil, China, and Japan used performance-based recognition more, where all the other countries had years of service as the most common program.

Top awards given for recognition include verbal recognition, treats, meals, gift cards and cash, symbolic awards/trophy, and gift of employer’s or employees’ choice. This also varied by country, with countries like China and Brazil giving trips more often, the UK using vouchers, and India using redeemable points and symbolic awards.

Stephanie also talked about the most important characteristics in a recognition partner – thought leadership, ability to customize to cultural nuances, variety of quality award items, and company stability.

In terms of impact, 47% of global companies surveyed found “excellent” value in their recognition programs, and 44% found “good” value. Top outcomes of current recognition efforts are an increase in employees feeling appreciated and feeling their work makes a difference, employees feeling more pride and putting extra effort into their work, and a closer connection to the company mission and purpose. Stephanie shared additional research about the impact of recognition on employee engagement, innovation, productivity, and employee retention.